The Sunday Talk Given by Anil Kumar

“Beware of Barriers”

February 29th, 2004

OM…OM…OM…

Sai Ram

With
Pranams at the Lotus Feet of Bhagavan,

Dear
Brothers and Sisters,

knowledge
is a barrier in spirituality

We started our
session ten minutes late, for reasons best known to you. I have been
thinking about what I should talk about this morning. I selected the
topic, “Beware of Barriers.” I certainly hope that you will find something
useful, profitable and meaningful, and that you will benefit from
listening.

What is the first
barrier in spirituality? The first barrier in spirituality is knowledge.
This may be a shock to many people. It may not be acceptable to many
others, and it may sound meaningless to the rest. But it is the fact of
facts. Knowledge is the first barrier.

Let us beware of
this barrier of knowledge. Why? Knowledge is a thing that you gather or
collect from books written by somebody else. It comes from their past. It
cannot be your experience. It cannot be your own understanding. It cannot
be your own creativity. It is only second-hand information. I am not
overstating this. It is a barrier.

That is the reason
why many of these scholars are not necessarily eminent devotees. Many of
them are very good in their scholarship. They are very good in their
interpretation. But as devotees, they may not be that good because their
knowledge is a barrier.

Why? A man of
knowledge feels that he knows everything. Once I start feeling that I
know, I stop growing. There is no hope of growth. Knowledge gives the
false feeling of having known that which is not known. After all, what he
knows are some facts and figures; or a few quotations and verses which he
could understand to repeat and quote, and at the conclusion be applauded.
That shows a scholar or a well-read man!

Life is not for
reading. For spirituality, reading is a barrier. Knowledge is certainly
not the path towards realisation.

Many times Baba
has said, “The table with many bottles, tablets, capsules, or syringes on
it, proclaims that the master of the house has been a successful patient
for a long period.”

He has many
capsules and tablets. Likewise, if my office table is full of books, it
only means I am a patient who immediately needs a cure through worldly
experiences. Experience is the cure for the disease of ignorance, not
knowledge. What do these people of knowledge do? What do they have? At
their fingertips, they have insignificant and nonsensical details, which
are irrelevant and silly.

Baba
gave one example: One fellow went to a mango garden. There he saw mango
fruits, which were quite ripe. This fellow called the gardener and asked
him, “What is the plinth area of this mango garden?”

The
gardener answered him, and the man replied, “Oh, I see.”

Then
he asked, ““How many trees are here?”

Again the gardener answered and the man replied, “Oho!

Then
he asked, “How much fruit does each tree bear?” “How long does it take
for the fruit to ripen?” “How much money do you make? The rebate, the
commission, the wholesale, the large scale?”

He
continued discussing the method of manuring, the process of cultivation,
the number of trees and the number of fruits, but he did not eat the
fruit. Whereas, a young boy came along, jumped up, plucked the fruit and
ate it. Now who is the wise man?

The
one who eats the mango fruit is more practical. He has had more of an
experience than the fellow collecting data about the mango garden. Yet,
that is what the scholar does; that is what a man of letters does. It is a
foolish verbal literary gimmick, which does not quench the appetite at
all.

Therefore, the first barrier to spirituality is knowledge. This fact that
knowledge is a barrier comes from Bhagavan’s discourses, and from the
teachers of all times. It is not my own concoction. People who differ with
me on this should pardon me, because these are not my ideas. If you are
capable of pardoning Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, then that is what you
should do. It is what they all have said.

Another point: Due to knowledge taken from a book, most people say, “I
know.”

Suppose someone says, “Sir, this is what Swami said; so I know.”

We
should tell him, “You do not know that you do not know.”

When
can you say, “I know”? You can say, “I know” only when you have
experienced the truth of it, when you have experienced the validity of it,
when you have had the experience in your daily life. You cannot simply
say, “I know” because you have read a book on it.

Baba
has said, “Repeatedly, I speak about Love, Devotion, Prema and
Bhakti. Because I always speak about Love, some people say, ‘Swami,
don’t You get bored speaking about Love? It must be boring, really, the
many millions of times You speak of it.’”

Swami said, “I will repeat it again and again until you start loving
people.”

You need to be
taught about Love until you can Love. Similarly we should never say, “I
know,” until we experience what we say we know.

The
fact that we say, “I know” is only verbal, textual, and academic, with no
relevance in daily life. This is the point, my friends. If you say, “I
know this; I know that; I know you,” who are you? Are you the known? No!
Are you the process for knowing? No! Who are you? The knower! Am I clear?
You are the knower! I know! Who is this ‘I‘, the one who knows? Therefore,
if you say, “I know,” it means you do not know because you are the knower.
The one who knows is God.

So
all the knowledge, all the books that we gather, all that we say, all that
we share in conversation, that is the real knower, and that knower is God
Himself. Therefore, when the knower tries to know everything, what is it
that the knower does not know? If we say knowledge is known by the knower,
then he is more than the known. You understand!

I am
more than the pen I hold. I do not think that my pen is greater than I am,
unless I am from a lunatic asylum. Right! I am more than the pen.
Similarly, the knower is more than the known. So, all that is known is
knowledge. The one who knows, the knower, is more than the knowledge.
Therefore, this knowledge is inferior to the knower. Knowledge will not
help you.

The
second thing: Suppose I say, “I have seen this; I have seen you.” Who are
you? Are you the seen? Yes. You are the seen; I am seeing you. The mike
is the seen; I am seeing it. The pen is the seen; I am seeing it.

Then
who am I? I am the seer. If we accept that the seer is greater than the
seen, then all that is seen is inferior, when compared to the seer, and
all that is known is inferior when compared to the knower.

Therefore my friends, knowledge does not speak of the knower. Knowledge
does not speak of the seer. Knowledge refers only to the known and the
seen. That’s all! The knower cannot be known. The seer cannot be seen. I
am not playing with words, my friends. I am not yet capable of literary
gimmicks.

You
may be thinking that it is impossible, that I cannot see. Well, see your
back if you can. Can you see your back? Try! If you turn again and again,
the head will remain like that for sometime. It won’t come back to normal.
(Laughter) Can you see your ear? The ear and eye are near, but they
do not see each other. Similarly, you are the seer, whom you cannot see.
You are the knower, whom you cannot know. So, that which is not known is
the knower. That which cannot be seen is the seer. Knowledge cannot help
you.

So the first
barrier, the first obstacle, the first bottleneck in the field of
spiritual comprehension is knowledge. Those that boast of knowledge
deserve sympathy and pity, because knowledge is a poor instrument with
which to know and experience God.

Baba goes one step
further. Baba is Ultimate Reality. All teachers and seers stop at one
level, but Baba goes one step beyond. He is the latest God, you know? He
will not stop you at the previous century. He will take you to the present
century.

Unless you empty
your head, you cannot experience God. Empty your head! The head is full
of nonsense. The head is full of matter only to spew out and repeat.
Therefore, empty your head. If the head has information, this will
prejudice you; it will make you biased and partial. You cannot be open to
experience. Therefore, empty your head. That is what Bhagavan said. When
your head is empty, the flower of enlightenment can bloom. When the
manifestation of Divinity starts blossoming, the flower of the Self starts
opening.

FEAR OF
GOD IS a BARRIER in spirituality

The
second obstacle is fear of God. Ask anybody, “Why do you go to a temple?”

“I
go to the temple so that I may not have difficulties in life.” Oho!

“Why
do you go for darshan?”

“If
I don’t go for darshan this evening, Swami may not look at me.”
Oho!

“Why
do you go for darshan?”

“If
I don’t go, I may be asked to leave the ashram. So I go.” I see.

Most
of my friends are God-fearing people. Some people say, “Mr. Anil Kumar,
you know I am a God-fearing man.”

God-fearing is a disqualification. Please understand that. You should fear
a snake, a tiger, a lion or a dangerous fellow. Don’t fear God!
God-fearing is a disqualification. We should be God-loving and not
God-fearing. I think I am clear. Let us be God-loving people, not
God-fearing people.

Why?
Love knows no fear. Trust knows no fear. Where there is fear, there is no
Love. The child has no fear because the child is by the side of its
mother. The child loves the mother, so there is no fear.

Yet,
we are saying, “Mata Pita Daivamu Mari Antayu Neeve: ‘You are my
Father, You are my Mother, You are my Guru’… but I am afraid of
You!” It is nonsense! So let us be God-loving people and not God-fearing
people.

Then
this is thewonder. What in this world
should we be afraid of? One may be a millionaire or a pauper; he may be
literate or illiterate. But there is one common fear - the fear of death.
No one says, “I love death.” I have yet to come across such a person. If I
do, I will give him the address of a good psychiatrist. Everyone is afraid
of death, please take it from me. If there is someone who says, “I am not
afraid of death,” he is more afraid of death than anybody else. It is only
talk, that’s all.

Some
people say, “I don’t care about money.” He has twenty-five lakhs in
his bank account, so of course, he doesn’t care. (Laughter)
Nonsense! We are tired of such people. Let us state only facts. The fact
is that we are all afraid of death.

So
if you fear God, it is meaningless. Why? God is life. Are you afraid of
your life? No! You are afraid of death, not life. So when you love God,
God is life. That is the correct spiritual path. We have fear of death.
Actually speaking, what is it that dies?

Somebody asked Ramana Maharishi, “Bhagavan, is your life coming to an end?
Are you going to die?”

He
said, “I was never born.”

“Oh!
I see. This fellow must be quite mad.”

“I
was never born.” So, how can the question of dying concern the fellow who
had no birth; there’ll be no death at all! That’s what Ramana Maharishi
said.

Now
let us think together. There is no birth; there is no death. Then what is
death? What is birth? Why two words when there is no phenomenon like that?

Birth is the appearance of the body. Death is the disappearance of the
body. That’s all! There is no birth at all. There is no death either. So
what is it now? We are just a water pipe, a tunnel, a canal or a channel.
The water starts at that end through the channel. The water goes out
through the other end of the channel. So the body is just like that. Life
passes through this tunnel, endless, beginningless.

So life has no
beginning; life has no end. It is only the body that has a beginning, and
naturally, it has an end. So my friends, we should be afraid of death. We
should fear death, not God.

EGO IS a
BARRIER in spirituality

What
is death actually? Death is nothing but the death of the ego. We call it
death in the ordinary sense. Why? It is the so-called ‘I’: “I am that. I
am this.” This death is nothing but the death of the ego. Man dies as an
ego; man never dies in relation to life. In relation to the ego, there is
death. Egolessness is deathlessness. Egolessness is immortality. Death
means the death of the ego.

Then
we should welcome death. We should not be afraid of the death of ego. That
is why Baba always quotes Jesus Christ, who declared on the cross: “Death
is the dress of life.”

Death is the dress of life! When I go and change my dress, do I cry? No!
Do you cry? You may cry because my dress is better than your dress; it is
better than yesterday’s dress; perhaps I look more handsome in this dress.
So when one changes the dress, it should not be the cause for misery.
Therefore my friends, the death of the ego is a celebration. The death of
the ego is a festival, because the ego is the worst barrier in the field
of spirituality. It is an obstacle. Therefore, we should welcome death in
relation to the ego.

Why?
Baba always says, “You are the Truth. Truth has no end. Truth has no
beginning. Truth is eternal. You are part of the Truth - Satyam Jnanam
Anantam Brahma.”

Satyam - Truth,
Jnanam - Wisdom, Anantam - Infinite, Brahma. You are Truth;
you are Infinite; you are Wisdom. Wisdom is deathless. Infinity is
deathless. Truth is deathless. You are the Truth. You are deathless. That
is why the Holy Bible says, “You shall know the Truth and the Truth shall
set you free.” Once you know the Truth, you are set free from the death of
ego.

Asatoma Sat Gamaya - From untruth to Truth!
Untruth is the death of the ego. The Truth is eternal and immortal. So
once you are part of the Truth, there is no question of death at all. My
friends, the third barrier stopping enlightenment is the barrier of ego.
Therefore, to experience God, we should see that the ego dies as early as
possible.

Tamasoma Jyotir Gamaya -
There lies the light of wisdom. Tamas is the darkness. Jyoti
is the light. With light, darkness is dispelled. Darkness is death. The
light is Truth, Bliss, Peace. The light is eternal.

Therefore my
friends, we are birthless, deathless and eternal; we are Truth itself. We
celebrate birthdays because, having enough money, we want to have a social
function. We enjoy it for a while, happily arranging it. “Happy Birthday!”
But actually you were never born. It is only the body that appeared.
That’s all! You existed even before the existence of this body.

Baba gives this
beautiful example: There is electricity everywhere. But when it is inside
the electric light bulb, it sheds light. OK! When the bulb is removed, the
electricity is still there, is that not so? So, electricity is
ever-present. When the bulb is fixed, you get illumination. When the bulb
is removed, you don’t get illumination. With the bulb or without the bulb,
electricity exists. You are Divine energy. You are Cosmic energy. You are
the eternal Truth. The bulb is the body. That’s all! This is what Baba
said.

Somebody asked Swami, “What will happen after death?”

Swami said, “Nothing will happen!”

After death, nothing will happen. Others may find that the world becomes a
better place in which to live, because we have been a nuisance up to our
departure! (Laughter) Now at least others can be happy. Those who
are rich enough will celebrate, dividing our properties.

So
my friends, there is no birth at all. Just as electricity exists, so does
energy! Energy exists everywhere. But energy is transformed into different
forms. Sometimes the energy becomes matter. The latest quantum theory
physics says that there is no matter. Ha! Yes! There is no matter at all.
All that we see is only energy. But we cannot say, “Sir, bring the energy
and put it in front of me so that I can speak.” No, it is not like that.
Because of its practical purpose, we call this a mike. But in reality, it
is energy. The latest physics, quantum mechanics, also says there is only
energy. There is no matter.

Therefore my friends, the only One that exists is Cosmic energy, Divine
energy, Sat (Truth), that is existence. Sat not only means
Truth; Sat also means existence. So I am ever existent! I never
appeared, nor have I disappeared. That is the point that I wanted to tell
you.

seeking
GOD is a BARRIER in spirituality

The
fourth barrier is this: Some people say, “After coming to Swami, I found
God.” Oho! Very good. Other people say, “I am in search of God.” Both are
wrong!

I
always tell my friends on different platforms, on many occasions
everywhere, that the greatest gift that Bhagavan has given us is the gift
of wisdom, the practical Vedanta (Indian spiritual knowledge). We
can receive this because of Bhagavan. All the other things that Bhagavan
does is only to ultimately give us this.

When
the child refuses to eat, the mother tells it stories. The child listens
to the story, but still does not eat. The mother starts a second story,
and the child eats a little. She starts the third story, and a little more
is eaten. The mother goes on singing and telling stories, although she is
very tired with the willful child. However, love is the only thing that
makes the child eat.

So,
Swami may give us interviews. Swami may give us rings, watches, lockets,
sweets, darshan (the public appearance of Swami), sambhashan
(speaking to Swami). All these are stories to make all the children eat
the food of spirituality.

Bagavan’s food is spirituality, but we don’t want spirituality. We want
our problems solved: the daughter to get married; the son to get his visa;
to a get promotion, to get the backache and joint pain to go, the blood
pressure to come down or, at the age of seventy, to run like a young man.
Oh! Yes! OK! So that’s why I am here in Puttaparthi.

It
is foolish! And Swami plays on this foolishness. The more egoistic we are,
the more we become wonderful puppets for Him to play with. The more fools
we are, the more He will make us greater fools. Why? Until we come out of
this foolishness, until we come out of His play.

Therefore, just as a mother goes on singing and narrating stories to make
the child eat a morsel of food, Baba also arranges functions, discourses
and cultural programmes with so much care. The Divine Mother is more
merciful and more compassionate, so that we may eat a little morsel of the
food of spirituality.

If
you say, “I want to know God,” this is what Baba says: “If you say, ‘I
want money’, you can get it by working for it. If you want position, you
can get it by struggling for it. If you want to be influential, yes, you
can be. You can desire anything in this world, but you attain God by
non-desiring.”

You
should not desire God! I am afraid some of you may now get up and leave
this auditorium! Here is a man who says non-desiring is the way to God.
Don’t misunderstand me. I am not mad yet!

Let
us understand this word, ‘desire’. I desire money, because I don’t have
money. OK? I desire a position, because I don’t have a position. I want to
be a man of influence, because no one says ‘Sai Ram’ to me. Because nobody
looks at me, I feel neglected and the ego is affected. Therefore, I want
to be influential, to sit on the veranda, to be a VIP. OK! So you can
desire what you do not have. But you cannot desire God because He is
alreadyinyou. God is already in you! You are eating,
you are talking, you are walking, and you are thinking because of God. You
are alive! That life is God; that aliveness is God. Then, why do you
desire God!

Suppose I say, “I want a pen.”

Somebody will say, “Is there anything wrong with you, Mr. Anil Kumar? We
saw you this morning at darshan. You were quite normal. We never
thought one could become so mad, all of a sudden. Why do you ask for a pen
when you have two pens in your pocket?” It sounds silly.

Similarly, to desire God, when God is in you, is total foolishness.
Therefore, my friends, non-desiring is a qualification to find God.
Desiring is necessary for worldly things. Non-desiring is the true
spiritual path.

Some
say, “I am in search of God.” This word is wrong.

I
can say, “I am in search of my friend, Mr. Ramanaih.” I can say, “I am in
search of my friend, Mr. Narayan Rao.” Because they are my friends, I am
searching for them. They may be in the canteen, at the railway station or
somewhere else; so I am in search of them.

But
to say, “I am in search of God” is foolishness. Why? God is everywhere!
Where will you search for Him? He is inside, outside, above you, below you
and around you.

That
is what Baba says:

Anatar Bahisch Tat Sarvam

Vyapya Narayanaha Stitaha.

Anatar Bahisch Tat Sarvam.
He is inside and outside - everywhere! What is the fun of’ searching?

If anyone is
walking along and says, “I am in search of sunlight,” what do we do? We
avoid such a fellow because he may bite us tomorrow!

Someone may say,
“I am in search of wind.”

“Oho! Please keep
searching, but leave me alone.”

You
can search for any worldly thing, but God is found by ‘not-searching’. You
can find God by ‘not-desiring’.

“Sir, I seek an interview with the District Collector.“ ”I seek an
appointment with you.” “I seek your permission.” Seeking is a process seen
in the world. We don’t have to seek God.

People say,
“Knock, it shall be opened. Seek, you shall find.” You don’t need to seek.
You only have to seek that which you have not seen. You have to seek that
which is not near you. When God is in you, what are you seeking?

So,
to find God, you should be non-seeking. To find God, you should be
non-desiring. To find God, you should be non-searching. I think I am
clear.

These statements may look challenging, but they are positive truths. They
are the truths of truths. God is
in you.

For
example, the heartbeat: Am I responsible for the heart beating? I have
never said, “Oh, dear heart, please beat.”

While I wait for this to happen, others could start beating me! (Laughter)
We cannot make our heart beat. The heart-beat is a natural process. Of
course, the sweetheart is different. I am not referring to the sweetheart.
(Laughter)

For
the heartbeat, God is responsible. For the blood circulation, God is
responsible. For the lungs to work, God is responsible. For you to sleep,
God is responsible. When God does not help you sleep, you lie awake all
night, and make others get up as you don’t want to see them sleeping when
you cannot sleep! (Laughter) Your appetite is because of God; your
sleep is because of God; your life is because of God.

Smiles and laughter are because of God. A fellow who cannot smile, well,
you can say that his face has no God in him. As a result, the face is
lifeless. To quote Baba, “Castor oil faces - no smiles, full of wrinkles,
stretched elastic, rubber-like faces.”

Chi! Such faces
say, “There is no God on my face!” Thank you. It is obvious and
self-evident. Therefore my friends, God is there. This body is functional.
When this Divinity is withdrawn, the body is paralysed. You cannot control
the body. So that vitality, that dynamism, that spirit, that life is God.

Jeevam Eva Sada Sivam

Sivam
Eda Sada Jeevam.

“God
is life. Life is God.” That is what Bhagavan says.

Therefore, you can find God by non-seeking, by non-desiring and by
non-searching. We must remember these three concepts. God is so great that
He has given Himself to us. To say that I have not seen God is really an
insult.

Your
mother cooks for you; your mother helps you. If you say to your mother,
“So far, I have not made your acquaintance,” the mother will cry for
having given birth to such a worthless child. Unfortunately, the number of
such people is increasing day-by-day.

Therefore my friends, when life is in you as the bubbling dynamism,
digestion, ingestion and assimilation, there is no sense in saying, “I
don’t know God.” As time revolves, God is expressing Himself.
You might as well say, “I don’t find electricity. I can’t find it
anywhere.“ What! Then there is something wrong with me.

So,
God is seen in the opening of a flower. God is seen in the happy smile on
a happy face. God is seen in a blossoming flower. God is seen in the
running rivers. God is seen in the floating clouds. God is seen in the
sunrise and sunset. God is unseen,
making us see the scenes around.

This is the point
that we should always keep in mind. The barrier is the search for God. The
obstacle is to seek Him. Bhagavan says because you are God, it is
ignorance to attempt to find and desire Him.

RELIGION
IS A BARRIER IN SPIRITUALITY

The
next barrier -- do not get disturbed, my friends! Religion is a barrier. I
am not an atheist. I am not a naxalite. I am not a terrorist. I am not a
reactionary. I am not a man of violence. Religion is a barrier.

We
have gathered at the Feet of Baba, who does not speak of any religion.
What is the religion of Baba? Here, there is no religion!

If
anyone says that Baba speaks of Hinduism, that fellow has not understood
His teachings. Baba does not speak of any religion, because religion is a
barrier. Why? Every religion tells you the way to God: “This is the way.”
“That is the way.”

Christians say, “Christ is the goal. Christianity is the way.”

Muslims say, “Allah is the goal. Islam is the way.”

Buddhists say,
“Buddha is the goal. Buddhism is the way.”

So
every religion speaks of two things – the goal and the way. Both of these
are nonsense. Why? God is not a goal. I repeat: God is not a goal!

Why?
It is simple. At the end of this talk, our goal is the foreigners’ canteen
(Laughter), or the North Indian canteen (to eat). What is the way?
You climb down the steps and go there. Right! The way is clear. The goal
is clear. The time is not yet, that’s all.

So,
when there is a goal and a way, there are two points - one is the time;
the other is the distance.

“Sir, how far is the foreigners’ canteen?”

“Oh!
Three hundred yards.” The distance!

“Sir, how long
will it take me to get to the foreigners’ canteen?”

“Five minutes.”
Oh! I see, the time.

“Sir, where is the North Indian canteen?”

“Down below.”

“How
long will it take?”

“It
is just a yard -- about two minutes.”

Whether it is here or there, every goal has a time and a distance. When
God is inside me, when I am God, what is the distance? There is no
question of distance at all. How much time will it take? To know that I am
Anil Kumar, how long will it take? If it takes a very long time, I think
it’s time for me to say goodbye to earth! I am Anil Kumar. I don’t need to
take time to know that I am Anil Kumar. How far do I have to go to know
that I am Anil Kumar? No! No! No! I am!

Similarly, when you are God, you don’t need to go any distance and you
don’t need time to know. There is no way to reach the goal because time
and distance do not exist. I think I am clear. God is not the goal!

Some
people ask, “What is the goal of your life?”

You
reply, “God!”

Hopeless. You do not understand. God cannot be your goal. Now, who are
you? Are you a dog? If you are a dog, it may take some time to reach God.
When you are God, why is there any question of going? Therefore, distance
and time do not enter into it because God is never a goal, and there is no
way to find Him.

What
is Baba doing here? In May, Buddhists come from all over the world to
celebrate Buddha Pournima. On Christmas, Christians come to celebrate the
birth of Jesus Christ. On Krishna Janmasthami, we celebrate the birth of
Krishna. On Sri Rama Navami, we celebrate the birth of Rama. Why? We taste
Divinity as being the same in all Forms.

A
simple example: There is an ocean here. You can taste the ocean anywhere
and know that it is saline or salty. To know that seawater is salty, you
don’t have to go into the sea and drown yourself. It’s not necessary. To
know the taste of the sea, you don’t have to go to a specific place in the
ocean. You can taste it anywhere.

So,
Christmas, Buddha Pournima, Janmasthami, Sri Rama Navami, Vinayak
Chaturthi, Shivaratri -- these are all the different spaces located in the
ocean of the Divinity of Sathya Sai Baba. Sathya Sai Baba is the ocean,
and these are the specialoccasions that we take advantage of, to taste this
Divinity.

Many
people have told me, and it is on record as well, that there are three
beautiful books written by Christian bishops, which link Baba and Jesus
Christ, Krishna and Christ, Jesus and Sathya Sai. Why I mention bishops is
because a bishop is supposed to be a professional, an expert on the
subject of religion. What do they write?

All
of them have said one thing: “After coming to Baba, I have tasted
Christianity. However, to the best of my knowledge, He never said anything
about Christianity.”

Why
does a bishop say that He ‘tasted’ Christianity? He sees all the Love and
all the sacrifice of Christ. All that Christ symbolises is contained in
the life of Bhagavan, whom he sees right in front of him.

I
have also known people who, after coming to Bhagavan, have said: “Now I
know what Buddhism is.”

All
Buddhists say three things:

Buddham Sranama Gacchami.

Dharmama Sranama Gacchami.

Sangam Sranama Gacchami.

“Why
do you say that?”

“My
father wanted me to say it.”

“Why do you say
that?”

“Dharmapada, the
Buddhist books, says it.”

Many
Buddhists have told me, “Sir, after coming to Baba, we have more insight
into
Buddhism.”

If you are a
Christian, Baba has the face of Christ. If you are a follower of Lord
Buddha, you will have more insight into Buddhism. Why?

Baba
says, “Buddham Sranamam Gacchami.” This means, “Surrender to the
Feet of Buddha.”

Baba
also says, “Where is Buddha now, for you to fall at His Feet?” Shall we
fall at the feet of His statue? Many people do fall, and this is
responsible for the fall of many! Instead Baba says, “Buddham Saranam
Gacchami” meaning, “Surrender to your intellect.” Buddhi:
Surrender to your intellect. Don’t surrender to your body. Don’t surrender
to your senses. Don’t surrender to your mind.

Why?
The buddhi (intellect) is close to Atma (spirit). Because “Buddhi
Graksham Atendriyam” - Buddhi is very close to Atma - follow
buddhi so that you are close to God. That’s Buddham Sramnam
Gacchami.Will any Buddhist give that meaning of Buddham
SaranamGacchami? This is the insight that Bhagavan has given
us: “O fellow, make use of your intellect. Make use of your buddhi
to walk along the right path.”

With
this buddhi or intellect, what should I do? “Dharmam Saranama
Gacchami”: I should know dharmam, righteousness, and
adharmam, unrighteousness. With buddhi, I will know dharma
– what righteousness is. Without buddhi, I will not know what is
dharma and adharma, what is righteous and unrighteous. So with
buddhi, let me know dharma and follow dharma. Where
do you follow dharma? “Sangam Sharanam Gacchami.” In
society, the path of dharma is to be followed. Baba provided a
wonderful insight into Buddhism.

He
can do this because Sathya Sai is not a religion. Sathya Sai is not a
sect. Sathya Sai is an ocean of spirituality. In this spirituality, you
can have the feel of Hinduism, the taste of Christianity and the insight
into Buddhism.

So,
one barrier to spirituality is a religion that impresses upon you that God
is a goal, and there is a way. They are both wrong.

To have
preferences IS A BARRIER to spirituality

My
friends, here is another barrier: When people repeatedly go to Puttaparthi,
they are asked, “Why do you go to Puttaparthi so many times?”

What
answer should we give? “I have no answer.”

However, some people will say, “I go because I want things to happen
according to my choice.” Oh! I see.

Then
somebody will say, “Though you went to Puttaparthi, why did your son fail
in the examination?” “Why did you not get the promotion in your office?”
If you go to Puttaparthi regularly, “Why are you notorious, or why aren’t
you famous?”

My
friends, we come to Baba not just for the fulfilment of desires. No! Don’t
misunderstand me. This is the point: God wants us to accept anything that
comes, anything that happens in our life. Total acceptance is
spirituality.

If
someone says, “If my son fails in the examination, I won’t go to
Puttaparthi until he passes,” that fellow is a spiritual businessman; he
is in religious commerce. We should not be like that. We should accept
whatever happens, the total existence of the experience.

Who
is God? God is total existence and we have to accept Him in totality,
totally. God is the total harmony of the existence. How can I say this?

This
happened one day. A fellow said, “Swami, my leg is fractured.”

He
said, “Chaala Manchid.” (Very good)

Another fellow said, “Swami, my grandmother died.”

“Santosham!”
(Very good)

“Swami, this is the wedding card.”

“Manchidi
bangaru!” (Very good)

He
always says, “Manchidi, manchi, manchi, meaning ‘good’.

Death…manchi. Birth…inka manchi. Wedding…good. He never
says, “This is bad; this is inauspicious. Why? God is a harmony of total
existence. What is meant by that?

There are different instruments in the orchestra. Every instrument is
played, and all work together in perfect harmony. Birth and death happen
in perfect harmony. Day and night happen in perfect harmony. Good and bad
exist in perfect harmony. Nothing is opposite to anything.

Some
people say, “Sir, I like the day.” Even if you don’t like it, there will
be night.

“Sir, I like the
night.” Even if you don’t want it, there will be day.

“Sir, I want good things.” Yet, bad things follow you like a shadow; good
and bad are not separate.

Please understand this: There is nothing absolutely good and nothing
absolutely bad. Every bad man has something good in him. Every good man
has something bad in him. If he says he is totally good, do not believe
him. He is a good-for-nothing fellow. This table is perfectly good because
it cannot be bad.

Good
and bad depend upon time and convenience. The food I eat is good. The next
morning, it is bad. The oxygen I breathe in is good. The carbon dioxide I
breathe out is bad. So, what is good and what is bad? Good is followed by
bad. Bad is followed by good. Good and bad follow like day and night.

So
what is God now? God is total existence. God is the totality. God is the
harmony of both the positive and negative in life. We put up a barrier
when we are preferential or when we want this or that to happen.

Some
people say: “Should I have this kind of attitude? There are some bad
qualities in me. What should I do?”

My
friends, God is great. God is compassionate. He forgives all our bad
qualities. Once you say, “I am bad,” you are no longer bad. That’s all. If
you are bad and declare goodness, then there is something wrong with you.
Yes!

A
simple example: All the rotten stuff, if it is in the house and kept in
the dark, stinks. However, when the bad matter is kept outside, it turns
into manure; it becomes a fertilizer for plants to grow. Once we see our
faults, God can make all the bad become manure. He can make all of our bad
become fertiliser.

Let
us not complain that God is beyond. Let us understand ourselves in depth.
This is most important. Some medicines we take are harmful. If a medicine
is used at the wrong time, it can be poisonous. Still, other poisons can
act as medicines. Now, what is bad and what is good?

My
friends, these are a few of the barriers to spirituality that I could
share with you this morning. To sum up, the first barrier is knowledge.
The second barrier is to fear God. The third barrier is to seek God.
The fourth barrier is ego.The fifth barrier is to think of God as a goal. The
sixth barrier is to think that the way to be near Him is in religion. The
seventh barrier is to have preferences, to have certain choices in life,
without realising the fact that life is a totality, that life is a perfect
harmony of existence. There cannot be any existence, there cannot be any
choice, which is partial. Let us free ourselves from these barriers.

QUESTIONS

I
have a few questions to answer. Kindly bear with me. I will read them, OK?
This is the first question.

IS THERE A REALISED SOUL?

Baba said
there are many realised souls. One gentleman asked Swami in the interview
room, “Swami, are there realised souls?” Swami said, ”Yes! There are
many.” A young man asked me this question, “Have
you seen a realised soul?”

The answer
came from Bhagavan. All of us are along the
path of realisation. We cannot say 50% are unrealised souls, and 50% are
realised souls. That counting may be alright for the sole of a shoe! But
not for this. No! We are all along the path of realisation. Nobody is
backward; nobody is forward. We are just walking, hand-in-hand. That is
what Swami said.

Sahana Bhavatu,

Sahanou Bhunaktu,

Sahaviryam Karvavahi.

Journey together. A journey to eternity. A journey of friendship and
amity. A journey in perfect comprehension, understanding and cooperation.

So,
have I come across any realised souls? Yes! I come across them every day.
In what form? I see people going along the journey of realisation, along
the path of enlightenment. Am I clear? That’s my answer.

FORGIVE AND FORGET

Yes!
Another question: ”We cannot
forget and forgive everybody so easily because we are human beings. But
Swami says to forget and forgive. Swami can smile in all situations. We
cannot. Can you show the right way towards life, or should we say a
spiritual life? How to smile in all situations?”

I
see! In all situations, we can only smile when we smile at ourselves.
Please understand. We can laugh at others only if we smile at ourselves.
How?

A
simple example: Somebody said to me, “Has Swami given you anything?”

“Has
Swami given what?”

“Anything. A ring or a watch?”

I
told him, “When I am not permanent, do you think the watches and rings
that He gives are permanent?” I don’t think so. I am not permanent. The
ring He gives cannot be permanent.

Then
that man asked me, “Then, why does He give?” A very good question!

“He
gives as a token of Love. He gives as a token of Grace.”

It
is not that a ring can be permanent. Some people say, “Sir, you may lose
your shoe, but the polish will last. The shine on the shoe lasts even if
you lose the shoe.” It is something like that.

I
smile at myself whenever I consider silly things so important. When Swami
talks to you and I get jealous, I should smile at myself and think what a
fool I am! He may talk to you tomorrow; He may talk to you the day after
tomorrow; He may not talk to you after that. It is up to Him! Why should I
feel bad about it? Therefore, we can smile if we can witness and see our
own life!

I
always tell my friends, “Arrey! Please be convinced of this. When
everybody says, ‘Sai Ram! Sai Ram! Sai Ram! You are a great man,’
do not think that you are great. You are great because you are near Swami.
When you are away from Swami, the moment you cross the gate, then you will
know just how great you are! You are not at all great.” Because we are
here with God, all the devotees are godly and they respect and love us for
that. That’s all. The credit goes to Bhagavan and not to any of us.

Similarly, when you want to smile, be a witness to your own life. Why am I
jealous? Why am I worried about simple things? If somebody sits where I
usually sit, I say, “It is my place.” Thousands sat there before I came!
(Laughter) However, since I started to sit there, I claim it is my
place. If somebody sits there, I feel so bad. (Laughter)

Now
I should smile at myself. Why? Having left family, friends, and
properties…all in the name of God…now I want to fight for that place, that
stone surface on which I sit. Is this worthwhile at all? What a fool I am
that I want this seat. Arrey…arrey…rey!

Let
us fight for a seat in the heart of Sai, not for a seat on the floor of
the auditorium. It is foolishness. So, we can smile at our own whims and
vagaries, at our own silly stupid attitudes. After all, what is all this?
When Swami starts praising somebody, we feel so bad and think, “Is he so
great? I am greater than him. Perhaps He does not know.” (Laughter)
Swami praises so that you can become better. Swami praises to encourage
you. Swami praises to correct you. Why don’t you think of it like that?

Suppose every father says, “You know, Mr. Anil Kumar, my son is pacca…a
man of discipline,” When you start talking about his discipline, he will
be disciplined for that day, at least. Next, he will claim, “My son is
very intelligent, you see. He reads regularly.” But the fellow never
touches a book. So, the father goes on speaking, sending positive signals,
with the effect that the son will start reading from that day on.

Therefore, we cannot interpret these things. Be happy and smile at your
own self (ego) for all its silly ideas. This is possible only if you
consider yourself a witness. That’s what I can say.

There are just a couple of minutes more.

BABA AS GOD

“Will Baba show the whole world that He is God in this body, or in the
coming body, that of Prema Sai?”

This
fellow believes in the future also. (Laughter) Will Baba show that
He is God? Showing is something different from what He is. Is that clear?
I show my book. I am different from the book. Right? I show my glasses. I
am different from the glasses. Baba shows that He is God. That means He is
separate. But He is not. He is God! What is the fun in showing? It is not
a question of showing, because if He shows now, then He is not God after
the show. It is something like a magic show. He is not God after the show.

So
my friends, He is God and He need not show. Will the sun show that it is
the sun? It does not need to show. The sunlight shows that it is sun. Will
the flower show that it is a flower? The very smell shows that it is a
flower. Will gold show that it is gold? No! The very shine, the glitter
itself, is proof that it is gold. Will Baba show that He is God? He is God
because His life is godly - His form, all His actions, His words and His
thoughts. So He is God. Am I clear? That is the way we have to take it.

FACING EVERYTHING IN THE
SAME SPIRIT

“Whatever happened to me was for my own good. I killed a person for a
minor provocation. Is that also for my own good?”

Yes! It is also
for your own good, if you face the punishment with the same spirit.

A simple example:
It seems a fellow committed a murder and was brought to the court. The
judge gave his pronouncement: “You are a culprit and a criminal. Since you
committed a murder, you will be kept in prison for a lifetime.”

The prisoner was a
philosopher, so he said: “Your majesty, a humble suggestion. I am not the
body. I am not the mind. So, how can I kill? I am not the killer. How can
you give me a punishment?”

The
judge said, “I am not giving a punishment. I am not the judge. The
punishment is to your body. This body is giving punishment to that body.
You have not killed, and I have not punished you.” (Laughter)

This
is the Vedanta vernacular. Therefore my friends, if you kill
somebody, is it for your own good? Yes! It is for your own good if you
face the punishment. This idea of whatever happened to me is for my own
good is a principle that will withstand the test of time.

BHAJAN LIST

“It
seems that the state president issued a list of ninety bhajans with a
directive that no other bhajans be allowed to be sung in the bhajans
mandali.The list does not contain the
old and new bhajans sung in Prasanthi Nilayam. What shall we do?”

I
don’t think that there is a prescribed list of bhajans. I don’t
know. In a hotel, you will have a list of items prepared. You can eat any
item. There is nothing like a list of bhajans.

A
simple example: Suppose you are in a reflective, meditative mood, so you
sing to yourself, “Dina Bhandava Sri Sai Deva.” Suppose you are in
a jovial, happy mood; then you sing “Gopika Maala Haari Pyaari, Maayi
Meera Mana Vihaari, Madana Mohana Murali Dhaari, Krishna Jai.”

No
one can say: “This is the list of bhajans you should sing now.” A
person cannot cry and sing a happy bhajan. It is not possible! It
depends on your mood and the place where you are.

When
you are alone at home, when you think that nobody is there for you, that
nobody cares for you, the husband and children are away and the night is
dark, what do you do? You cannot be joyful. You cannot sing a song with a
fast beat. You sing a song to contemplate Him, to make Him feel very
close…very close. Suppose someone near and dear to you has died; you
cannot sing a song in a happy mood.

Naturally as a boy said,

Punarapi Jananam Punarai Maranam

Punarapi Janani Jatare Sayanam

Iha
Samsare Bahu Dustare

Kripaya Pare Paahi Murare.

In
that mood, he will understand the momentary nature of life.

No
one can say, “This is the list of bhajans you should sing.” We are
not dictators like Musharaff and Bin Laden. We cannot do that; we should
not do that.

BABA’S POWERS

The next
question: ”Will Baba transfer His powers to somebody?”

If it happens, we
are the first applicants. (Laughter)

If He transfers
His powers, to what? Will we have our chair by the side of the Hanuman
statue there in the Hillview Stadium, giving interviews and charging
money? (Laughter) There is nothing like the transfer of powers.
There is nothing like the delegation of powers. You are the power.

Baba
has said, “You are powerful! The power in Me is patent. While the power in
you is latent and hidden, the power in Me is exposed.”

Therefore, there is no need for Him to transfer powers. You are the
power. He has given you all the power. You are God!

Still, I want powers. Suppose you find a rich man begging near the railway
station, what do you say? “He is a rich man; so why should he be begging
there?” Similarly, when you are powerful, nobody needs to transfer power
to you!

Those were the questions passed on to me for this week. Thank you so much
for being here this morning. I appreciate your time. (Applause)